mentally preparing for 17+ tomorrow

A shortened downtown run today because it was windy, and I wanted to save some strength for tomorrow's long run. Nothing very exciting.
Stats: 4.53 miles in 46:15 for a 10:13mpm pace

Running is probably the only productive thing that will happen today....

Strategy today: just pick a pace and stick to it. I only took one walk break and a conversation break. I probably should have skipped the walk break; I could have. The 3-minute conversation was a nice break for my body, but not for my brain or emotions. If it's not one god-damn thing, it's another. Today's catastrophes: furnace won't ignite so the house is friggin' cold, and while flipping the switch (in hopes of just magically fixing the ignition with my flip switching abilities?), I noticed that there is a puddle of water under the water heater. Goodbye summer concerts that I wanted to go to; hello new water heater. Today sucks. Focusing on keeping a consistent pace was the only thing that kept me from sitting down on the sidewalk and crying. And I don't even have PMS today! Gawd!
Stats: 5 miles in 53:35 for a 10:31mpm pace

six weeks until marathon? oh, shit.... (but semester 4 is done!)

Carol is taking it easy because of some hip pain, so I ran alone again today and did one lap from work to Sugarhouse Park and back. That will be the case until next week, at least. I haven't run since last Friday because I was busy with all of the papers for the end of the semester. I'm happy to say that I am done with project sequence 4, and I only have one more to go. Halle-friggin-lujah! So, last night I drank beer and ate chocolate chip cookies while watching Biggest Loser. Oh, yeah - I have quite the system going. That was my one night of doing nothing. Now, I have 16 days until semester 5 starts, and I have tons of stuff to do including running and fund-raising! Marathon is in six weeks. YIKES!
Stats: 5.5 miles in 58:34 for 10:39mpm pace

Do I stink?

I ran another solo long run today because Carol's hip is feeling worse (uh-oh)! I ran up to Tanner Park and then to the pedestrian bridges that cross 215 and 80. I added a lap in Sugarhouse because I knew that I needed the mileage. Mile 11 (through the park) really sucked because the pain in my toe turned into a shooting pain up the top of my foot to my ankle. I don't know if I was striding wrong, or what. I felt the pain the entire time, but it was managable until then. I'm guessing that problem and the total exhaustion in the last two miles are related to the fact that I took nine days off to do homework, and my body just wasn't ready for a long run. I had wanted to get 15 in, but I was too damn tired!

Here's the stinky news: I forgot my day-bra again. I'll be wearing a hot pink sweat fest until about 6pm. Sonofa... Thankfully, I only have one meeting. I'll try to sit far from everyone. And then, there's the immediate stiffness in my legs. It's going to be a long day.
Stats: 13.28 miles in 2:26:43 for 11:03mpm pace

like tree trunks, they are....

This was a better run than yesterday. Apparently, after nine days, I just need a day of trudging along to clean the gunk out of my joints and muscles. Today's run was smooth and easy (with the exception of my big, fat thighs - I'm really sick of these things).
Stats: 5.46 miles in 56:47 for a 10:24mpm pace

END OF SEMESTER - YUCK!

We ran slower than normal, but since I haven't run for NINE DAYS I'm good with it! I only have one more assignment to go to be done with the semester, and then I'll be able to concentrate on running (and fundraising) until the marathon!
Stats: 5 miles in 57:32 for 11:31mpm

Speaking of fundraising, PLEASE donate here!

Sub-11 squeaker

Carol and I both were dragging ass today, but we still managed to talk for the entire run. Walk breaks were more frequent than we would have liked, but we still managed to stay sub-11! (Barely) We ran a big loop with 300 feet of steady elevation gain over three miles. Not much, but enough to give us something to bitch about. :)
Stats: 7.11 miles in 1:18:04 for a 10:59mpm pace

Soaked!

Solo long run today. I thought I would add some mileage by doing Sugarhouse Park and then the U loop in reverse. I would get all of the hills out of the way at the beginning, right? Well, I forgot that 21st to 1st is a steady (but not killer) incline. Worked my quads! Then, I zig-zagged from 13th to 7th to add mileage. Back to work. I managed to run into a pine tree branch while trying to avoid a puddle which then made me land in yet a different puddle. My clothes were soaked from the slush, rain, and snow through the run. I actually had a good time!
Stats: 12.5 miles in 2:13:18 for a 10:40mpm

Raising expectations

Flat and easy because half of this run was into the wind! We ran an altered Liberty loop today knowing that tomorrow will be long. It was a good and chatty run, but the 10mph wind gusts for the last six-ish blocks weren't fun. They seemed to really zap our energy quite quickly. This run was a mixture of road, sidewalk, dirt, and wood chip path. It may be the same SoSaLa that we always see, but these changes were enough to mix it up and kept it pretty fresh.

It wasn't six months ago that we were saying that we would be pleased with any run around 11:30 pace. However, we have been consistenly sub-11 for almost the entire year so far with just a couple of runs in the +11 pace. Now, anything over 10:59 is a huge disappointment! Time to raise the bar again.
Stats: 4.64 miles in 50:45 for a 10:57 pace

Consistency is key

Solo run today on the Sugarhouse Park loop. I just tried to be consistent and only walk when forced to do so at a light. It paid off!
Stats: 5.5 miles in 58:39 for 10:40mpm pace

Smelly...

Easy run on the extended Liberty loop with Carol. We had a lot of catching up to do. It was a good run.
It's also nice weather which is a surprise after Sunday's 7 inches of snow. 45* this morning. I was totally over-dressed, so now I'm super sweaty and stinky. My co-workers are so lucky....
Stats: 5 miles in 54:13 for a 10:51mpm pace

awesome run!

If I hadn't had a meeting, I could have gone another three miles at this pace. Today was a great run. The weather was perfect, and I pushed myself to just be consistent for the entire ten miles. It totally paid off. (Although, I did miss Carol's company, but she has had a very taxing week in terms of work and personal stuff happening.)
Stats: 10 miles in 1:42:49 for a 10:17mpm pace